Richard Branson Leaks U.N. Draft Paper on Decriminalizing Drugs

Virgin
Group founder Richard Branson has publicly shared an unpublished draft
policy document on drugs from the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC) that says decriminalizing drugs would be consistent with
international law.

Themandate of the UNODC,
established in 1997, is to help member states fight against illicit
drugs, crime and terrorism. The office’s briefing paper, posted in full
beneath Branson’s essay as well as ina tweet he sent,
“clarifies” the body’s position on how countries should approach drug
policies, saying that decriminalizing drug use and possession for
personal consumption “is consistent with international drug control
conventions and may be required to meet obligations under international
human rights law.”

“My colleagues on theGlobal Commission on Drug Policyand
I could not be more delighted,” Branson wrote about the document, which
he called “an as-yet-unreleased statement circulated to the BBC, myself
and others.” He added that “together with countless other tireless
advocates, I’ve for years argued that we should treat drug use as a
health issue, not as a crime. While the vast majority of recreational
drug users never experience any problems, people who struggle with drug
addiction deserve access to treatment, not a prison cell.”

But UNODC never meant for this draft to be circulated publicly, it says. It responded to Branson’s essay with astatement Mondaysaying the briefing paper was under review and should not be considered a formal document or statement.

"The
briefing paper on decriminalization mentioned in many of today's media
reports, and intended for dissemination and discussion at a conference
in Kuala Lumpur, is neither a final nor formal document from the U.N.
Office on Drugs and Crime, and cannot be read as a statement of UNODC
policy,”a UNODC spokesman said.

Branson claimed in his essay that
“at least one government is putting an inordinate amount of pressure on
the UNODC. Let us hope the UNODC, a global organisation that is part of
the UN and supposed to do what is right for the people of the world,
does not do a remarkable volte-face at the last possible moment and bow
to pressure by not going ahead with this important move.”

Calling
interpretations of the paper’s intent an “unfortunate
misunderstanding,” UNODC denied that it was under pressure to withdraw
the report. “It is not possible to withdraw what is not yet ready,”the statement said.
“Overall, UNODC remains committed to the balanced approach that, in
particular, promotes alternatives to incarceration in line with
international human rights standards.”

The British billionaire concluded his post Monday
by saying that “the war on drugs has done too much damage to too many
people already.” He followed it with an invitation to join theStop the Harmcampaign,
a movement of nongovernmental organizations (of which the Global
Commission on Drug Policy is an ally) whose motto calls on people to
“demand drug policy reform.”

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Pam McColl is a well known advocate in the fight to resist the normalization of marijuana. She is the spokesperson for SAM CANADA, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which proposes neither incarceration nor legalization, but a reasonable and healthy policy in between those two extremes.

The
Liberal Party of Canada has decidedly inflamed the marijuana debate to
excite young adult voters and an electorate who have bought hook, line
and sinker into the propaganda that marijuana is safer than alcohol or
tobacco.

Those that argue that tobacco is far worse should be asking why it is that the Liberal Party did not take on the tobacco industry, or the
Conservative Government’s record on tobacco control.

If
tobacco is the true public villain why is it that the Liberal Party has
remained silent on he biggest drain on Canada's health care costs and a
product that kills one in five Canadians.

Where is the Liberal Party of Canada on the pending action to take on tobacco for $100 billion in damages? Why
talk of running a $10 billion deficit when $100 billion is sitting
there waiting for this country to collect off tobacco, making a true
difference in the lives of Canadians and saving our public health care
system tremendously?

The NDP say they will not
agree to the ratification of the TPP which includes long fought for measures to
curtain the tobacco industry, a major victory for public health and could positively impact Canada's ability to collect the $100
billion, bringing the tobacco industry to its knees. The USA Government
claimed and received $247 billion in the Master Settlement of 1998.

Liberal
marijuana policy would see those who give
marijuana to kids receive more severe penalties at an increase cost of
law
enforcement and hardship to families. It is a policy position that would
increase the punitive nature of marijuana control. 23% of kids report
receiving marijuana
from a parent. What would the Liberal Party do with these parents found
to be
offering marijuana to their kids, surely not put them in prison ? How
would they enforce their policies ? Between 30-53%, region dependent,
grade 12 students in this country report regularly using marijuana. That
makes for a great many parents facing harsh consequences considering
they have been grossly misinformed. Many hold to the belief that
marijuana is a safer choice, some even accepting the preposterous idea
that it is an "exit drug".

The
way to reduce the rate of use marijuana is to
either embark on a massive education campaign to effect a reduction in
the demand for this psychotropic drug, or the other option is we wait
until the damage becomes abundantly apparent and the public elects
representatives who will be charged with correcting the problem.

Entrenching
use by adopting legalization with further
normalization would be a gross mistake. It would serve only a small
elite of
adult users while allowing for predatory Big Pot to industrialize
marijuana cigarettes. There will be no easy retreat. We continue to
struggle to curtail the advance of tobacco or alcohol from reaching out
to and securing the youth market to this day.

The
current youth market for marijuana is 2.5 times that for adults.
Legalization addresses supply for the adult market, a small elite of
less than 10% of the Canadian population. It

fails completely to address a reduction in demand.

We
are in a
fight to defend our children’s brains. In this context it becomes a
human
rights battle and sadly both opposition parties blew the opportunity to
offer up sound public health policies on this crucially important issue.

Endorsement

"All treatment centres in B.C. should get involved and support the Drug Prevention Network. As one collective voice we need to send the message that treatment works and it saves lives. There are recovery houses, treatment centers, private, government funded, long term, short term, detox, therapeutic communities etc. Let's help support prevention and help educate the public."